


every second with you, I want another

by t_hens



Series: projects for people [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Lovers, grocery store au, minor injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-27 02:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18294587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_hens/pseuds/t_hens
Summary: Dan is a night cashier at a grocery store who is bored with his life and Phil is new to town and doesn't believe in making a grocery list





	every second with you, I want another

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alittledizzy (dizzy)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/gifts).



> thank you Mandy for the wonderful prompt and thank you to [fourthingsandawizard](http://fourthingsandawizard.tumblr.com) for being such a wonderful beta <3

If Dan had to describe his life with a color, he’d probably choose grey. Something bland and non offensive that most people’s eyes skate right over. And maybe that should make him feel sad or something, but it didn’t. He had long ago accepted that was just how his life was.

A partial reason for this passive outlook was his job. He was the night checker at a 24 Tesco and had been for the past two years. It paid the bills and kept him busy, so he figured it wasn’t that bad. People were mostly nice and didn’t give him too much shit, and other than the occasional drunk that would stumble in and puke, he didn’t even dislike it that much. Having a routine, even a boring one, helped him keep his head straight.

Working in a grocery store hadn’t always been his dream, though. When he was young and naive, he had wanted to act, had even majored in drama during uni. But reality was a bit of a bitch, and he learned the quick way that being a mediocre actor in London didn’t pay the bills. He had seen a sign in the Tesco window when he was wandering the streets of downtown London in the middle of the night, looking for something to help him drown his sorrows at being rejected by yet another acting production. He was facing eviction and didn’t have many options, so he took the first job he could find.

And it was fine, it really was. There wasn’t much brain power involved in scanning a few items, bagging them, and counting change. He could do it even when he only paying partial attention, which was one of the job’s most appealing aspects.

The electronic bell that signaled a customer had entered rang throughout the store, and Dan dragged his eyes up from the worn out copy of The Shining he had read a million times. Whoever had entered was already walking down an aisle out of sight, so Dan let his attention fall back to his book and didn’t look back up until he heard the quiet ‘ _thud_ ’ of items hitting the conveyor belt.

“Welcome to Tesco,” Dan said in a droning voice, keeping his eyes on the items in his hand.

“Good evening,” the customer said, and Dan finally made eye contact with him, which was maybe a mistake in retrospect.

The man was tall and pretty, with what was probably dyed black hair pushed up into a quiff, and the bluest eyes Dan had ever seen. He was smiling so wide it looked like his cheeks probably hurt.

“Uh, yeah. You, too,” Dan stuttered out, caught off guard.

“How are you tonight?”

Dan dropped the pint of ice cream in his hand and felt his cheeks flush as he bent to retrieve it from the ground.

“Shit, sorry. I can go get you a new one,” Dan said, holding up the dented carton.

The man waved his hand, unconcerned. “No, it’s fine. The ice cream is still good,” he chuckled.

He was so cute when he smiled, and Dan had to make a conscious effort to keep himself from staring. No one attractive ever came in this late at night, and all of a sudden Dan was burning with the desire to find out what this guy’s deal was.

“Are you a night owl, too?” Dan was breaking his number one rule of working in a store: don’t make small talk with the customers, but he couldn't help it. He figured making an exception once wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“Kinda,” he said with a small grin. “I just moved to London and there is nothing to eat in the flat, and I figured my mum would kill me if I didn’t eat something other than takeaway.”

Dan glanced down to the bags of crisps, the ice cream, and various sweets. He raised his eyebrows, watching the other man’s cheeks turn a lovely crimson.

“At least it’s not takeaway, right?”

Dan couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “Mate, whatever you eat is your business. ‘Less you’re a cannibal, cause that’s, like, illegal.”

It was a lame joke, but it earned Dan a genuine sounding laugh.

Dan put the last of the items in the bag after scanning it and ripped his attention away to look at the total. They exchanged money and Dan helped him get all the bags off of the turnstile. 

“Thanks,” he squinted at Dan’s chest where a name tag was nestled, “Dan.”

Dan stood a bit speechless as the man smiled and exited the store. He should have asked his name, but Dan was nothing if not a bit of a coward. He moved back to his position at the cashier and tried to focus on the store, but all he could think of were blue eyes and a kind smile.

-

He came in the next night, too. Dan glanced up from his book that he hadn’t read more than a paragraph from since their meeting. He waved happily at Dan before disappearing in the ‘Asian Groceries’ section. Dan’s face tugged into a traitorous grin that he hoped wasn’t too obvious.

A few minutes later, the man put a Kinder Egg in front of Dan on the counter and smiled wide.

“You came in just for a Kinder Egg?” Dan asked incredulously.

“Nah,” he shrugged. “I needed soy sauce, but you guys don’t have any.”

Dan gave him a look; who goes into a store for soy sauce and leaves with a piece of candy with a cheap toy in it?

“I felt bad just leaving without buying anything,” he mumbled, and it made a boisterous laugh leave Dan, one too loud for the current setting.

“Don’t poke fun, Dan!” 

That stopped him short. Of course _he_ remembered who the man was, since he hadn’t stopped thinking about him since they met, but for him to remember Dan just seemed like another thing entirely.

“I’m not...” he trailed off, hoping he would supply his name.

“Phil,’ he caught on, giving Dan a shy smile.

He was too off guard to keep poking fun, entirely disarmed by how ridiculously adorable Phil was.

“Well, thanks, Dan. See you later!” Phil smiled brightly as he plucked the Kinder Egg from Dan’s palm. 

“Uh. Yeah. See you.”

Dan stood there, slightly dumbfounded, and gave a weak wave as Phil walked through the automatic doors. It was a few seconds before Dan realized he was still standing there with his hand raised and dropped it quickly, hoping that the security guard hadn’t been watching the camera pointed at Dan’s register at that exact moment.

-

Dan spent the next day sleeping longer than he probably should have, given that it would just serve to worsen his already dismal sleep schedule, but it was his day off and he was feeling particularly lazy that day.

He played Skyrim for a few hours, messed around on Twitter, and kicked the growing load of laundry on his bedroom floor to the washer, but didn’t put it in because that meant he would have to get up again and switch it to the washer, and who had the time for that?

It wasn’t until nearly two in the morning when his stomach gave a terrible growl that he realized he hadn’t eaten yet. Opening up his fridge was a bit depressing; the only items in there were four of a six pack of beer, a moldy lemon, one solitary egg, and a jar of jalapenos that were most definitely expired.

The prospect of ordering Dominos sounded appealing, but he also knew that he probably didn’t have enough in his account to justify it. It wasn’t payday for another three days and he really needed to pay his electric bill, lest he have to sit around in the dark, and worse, with no internet.

He accepted his fate and went to his room to find a jacket and slip on his shoes. The Tesco he worked at was just a five minute walk from his flat, and he could actually get food to last a few days, rather than blowing it all on pizza.

The temperature had been plummeting lower and lower the past few weeks, and the streets were starting to get that winter sheen about them. Winter was nice sometimes, a reprieve from the sweltering London summers. Happy to have put on his thick jacket, he wrapped it closer to his body and increased his pace.

-

The artificial lights hurt his eyes a bit after being in the dark of his apartment all day and the dark of the night, but he adjusted quickly, heading straight for the cereal aisle. He could buy a box of Crunchy Nut and milk and still have enough for a few cheap frozen pizzas.

He scoured the shelves, not entirely sure where the cereal he wanted was because he was kind of a shit employee and didn’t always pay attention when they reorganized shelves. It was near the end of the aisle and Dan grumbled when he finally found it, reaching for it, when a hand came out of nowhere and tried to grasp the same box. Dan whipped his head around, ready to tell them off, when he realized who the hand touching Dan’s belonged to.

Phil.

“Hey there, stranger!” Phil was entirely too happy to see him, and it made butterflies flood his stomach. 

“Oh, hi.”

He realized they were still clutching the same box, and each other, so he retracted his hand quickly, nearly smacking himself in the face in the process.

“Fancy seeing you here. Are you working tonight?”

He probably already knew the answer, given that Dan was wearing - fuck. He hadn’t thought that he would see anyone he knew, other than his coworkers whose opinions he couldn’t care less about, so he had just left his plaid pajama pants on and threw on his black bunny slippers. It was wholey moterifying, but Phil was smiling all big and shit like he was just thrilled to see Dan, even though he looked like a dofus.

“No, it’s my day off.” His cheeks were probably bright red, given how hot his face felt. 

“Oh, nice! I hope it’s been a nice one.”

“Yeah,” Dan shrugged. “Just playing video games.”

“You play games!” Phil practically jumped in place. It was entirely too cute.

“It’s, like, all I do when I’m not working.”

Phil went on a tangent about his favorite games, and Dan just stood and listened, smiling when they would have an interest in common, which happened far more often than Dan would have thought, given how different they seemed to be.

Someone must have entered the store because the bell rang out across the space and it startled him back to reality. His stomach gave an embarrassingly loud grumble, and he was reminded of why he had come to the store in the first place.

“Oops,” Phil giggled, “Sounds like you’re hungry. I’ll stop talking your ear off.”

Dan wanted to protest, but his stomach gave another growl and he decided it was best to end the conversation on a good note before he inevitably did or said something embarrassing. He grabbed a box of Crunchy Nut and handed it to Phil before grabbing his own box. 

“Well, it was nice seeing you tonight. Enjoy your cereal.”

Phil gave his wide smile and Dan smiled back, his cheeks sore from using these particular muscles so little.

-

Phil didn’t come in the next night, though that didn’t stop Dan from glancing up at the doors so many times during his shift that his neck was aching by the time he went home. He’d given the wrong change to someone while whipping around to see who had entered and got shouted out.

When it was 5am and his shift was finally over, he walked home and laid straight in bed, only bothering to take off his jacket and toe off his shoes. He knew the sooner he fell asleep, the sooner he would have dreams of a tall dork with blue eyes and a too wide smile.

-

Dan was stocking the shelves during his next shift, because he had been five minutes late for his shift and the night manager Greg had made him and Renee trade jobs. It wasn’t the worst job in the world, he might actually prefer it, but the pay was less and he was already stretched pretty thin.

The electronic bell buzzed and he had to really concentrate on not looking because his neck still ached and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Also, he was really unsure when getting his hopes up had even become a thing in the first place. _It must not have been Phil_ , he thought, putting a can of beans on the shelf a little harder than necessary. 

A whole shelf of beans, and an aching back later, Dan finally stood and made his way to the breakroom. It’s a shitty, poorly lit room that kind of vaguely smelled, but at least he would be able to scroll through his phone for a few.

He wasn’t paying attention, all his focus on the too-bright red break door, when he collided into someone. They grabbed onto Dan before he could fall, and he realized it was Phil holding him.

“Shit, sorry.”

Phil just chuckled and helped Dan stand. “You weren’t at the cash register, I thought maybe you had the night off.”

Dan shook his head. “Nope, I have Saturday off.”

He made a face, but before Dan could figure out what it is, his face shifted again. 

“Were you done for the night? You seemed like you were on a mission.”

“Oh, no, I was just going on break.” Suddenly the idea of sitting in a crappy room by himself didn’t seem so appealing.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you!”

He started to move away, but Dan threw his arm out to stop him. “No, it’s okay. I can talk.”

Phil sheepishly smiled and nodded. “Okay. Do you want to join me to the yoghurt aisle?”

Dan agreed and walked with Phil to the dairy shelf, talking to him while he debated the various brands and flavors.

“You know, most people make grocery lists and just do all their shopping all at once. And usually not at one in the morning.”

Phil shrugged, choosing a coconut one. “I have a hard time sleeping at night. My brain is on all day and it’s hard to shut it off.”

Dan got that. He could hardly ever sleep, and especially not for long.

“What is your brain doing all day that keeps it so busy?”

“Editing. I work from home for an agency that edits, like, commercials and stuff. You know the Java Cake commercial with the corgi? I edited that.”

“Holy shit. That’s so cool!”

Phil smiled at Dan’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, I like it a lot. That’s part of why I moved to London. I got a promotion, but I had to move.”

“You’re like a proper adult, then.” With anyone else but Phil, he would probably have felt jealous, because at least half of his personality was his envy for other’s lives and situations, but he just felt happy for Phil because if anyone deserved a promotion, it was him.

“I don’t know about that,” Phil chuckled. “I can barely cook, and I turned a load of laundry pink the other day.”

“I burnt a pan of pasta once. Like, it was on fire and everything. No one else told me that you have to put water in it.”

Phil laughed so loudly that the drunk who was staring at the case of milk gave them a look. It reminded Dan that he probably needed to go back to work. He dug out his phone from his pocket and balked at the time; he was four minutes past his break. 

“Shit, I have to go, my break is over.”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry! I’ve been just blathering at you for your whole break.”

Dan blushed all the way up to the tops of his ears. “No, it’s fine. I’m happy you did.”

Phil blushed in turn, his lovely pale cheeks turning a delicate pink.

“Me, too.”

It was entirely too much; Dan’s face was on fire, so he smiled all big and dimples and waved, heading back to his box of beans.

-

He wasn’t surprised to see Phil the next night. When the doorbell rang and he walked through the door sporting a dopey grin, Dan returned it right away. He came over to Dan’s lane and leaned against the counter, having to hunch down because he was so tall.

“What’s on the menu for tonight?” 

“Indian!” Phil pulled out his phone and shoved it into Dan’s face, trying to show him the recipe for chicken tikka masala.

“That looks so good!” Dan groaned, his stomach growling almost as if on cue.

“Want to come over and have some?” Phil was looking at his phone instead of Dan and his cheeks were that lovely pink color again.

“I don’t get off work until 5, Phil,” Dan said gently, not wanting Phil to get the idea that he didn’t want to.

“I’ll be up!” Phil replied immediately. “This is gonna take a while to marinate anyway!”

Dan hesitated, “Are you sure?”

There was a lot more riding on this than just a meal - it seemed like a delicate point they were balancing on, and this could tip things either way.

“Absolutely.” Phil’s smile was megawatt, and it melted any resistance Dan had. 

“Okay.”

Phil pulled up his contacts and added Dan, texting his address. Dan saved Phil’s contact and agreed to see him later. 

‘Later’ ended up being twenty minutes later when Phil brought over the ingredients for dinner. There were other things, too: another box of cereal, and a thing of fancy chocolates. Phil told him he’d see him after work, and for the first time in a while, Dan was excited to go somewhere other than home.

-

The next four hours dragged by. No matter how much Dan tried to think of something else, or find something to keep busy, his stomach was still a big swirl of nerves and excitement. By the time his shift was over, he got out of the door in what was probably record time.

Phil’s house was close, ten minutes in the opposite direction of Dan’s, which felt like important information. He didn’t get long to lament about his work clothes before he was standing in front of Phil’s building. He pressed the buzzer for Phil’s flat and it was almost immediately followed by the door buzzing open.

He lived on the fourth floor, so it wasn’t too long of a ride, but it was long enough for Dan’s nerves to override the excitement. Yes, he was happy this was happening, but there seemed to be a lot of pressure riding on this. What if Phil thought he was weird and boring when he wasn’t surrounded by stacks of reasonably priced goods?

The knocks on Phil’s door rang out loudly in the deserted hall, and he hoped he hadn’t woken anyone up. The door ripped open a second later and Phil was stood in front of him, dressed in plaid pajamas almost identical to Dan’s pair at home and glasses perched on his nose. 

“You came!” Phil pulled him into the room so quickly, he nearly tripped.

As soon as he was through the door, he caught a whiff of the delicious food cooking. His stomach grumbled and Phil giggled at him.

“You’re just in time! Dinner just got finished!’

Dan bent to take off his shoes, but kept his eyes on Phil’s figure moving to the kitchen.

“Surely you mean breakfast?”

He could hear Phil’s chuckle, although he could barely see him over the breakfast bar.

“I think I prefer pancakes for breakfast rather than chicken and rice.”

“Uncultured.” Dan shook his head in mock disappointment as he made his way into the kitchen.

Phil was dishing up heaping servings of the delicious smelling food and Dan was practically drooling. He didn’t even poke fun at Phil’s horribly mismatched plates; the food looked too good. Phil sat his plate down in front of him on the breakfast bar and indicated for Dan to sit down while he took a seat on the stool next to him.

The food was incredible, and it helped to keep Dan from focusing on the fact that every so often, Phil’s thigh would brush against his own and send tingles through his whole body.

“Fuck, Phil. This is _so_ good.”

He grinned all wide and adorable, and Dan had to take another bite before he said just that and embarrassed himself.

“Not bad, right? Maybe I should start cooking more often. This is _almost_ as good as cereal.”

Dan choked on his bite a little and Phil patted his back with a bit too much enthusiasm, nearly sending him face first into his food.

“Oops, sorry! My mum always says I’m a bit aggressive.”

“I think ‘tactile’ is probably the right word.”

Dan focused back on his plate because Phil was giving him a sweet smile, and his eyes were all big and cute, and he just _really_ wanted to kiss him.

-

Phil cleared up the dishes when they were done, after much protest on Dan’s part about how he should because Phil cooked. He had shooed Dan away from the kitchen and told him to pick out something to watch, because apparently that’s what they were doing, though Dan wasn’t about to complain. 

He stood in front of the massive bookcase in the lounge that held all of Phil’s dvds, trying to pick something good out. They had a lot of the same movies and shows, other than the occasional horror film that Dan hadn’t seen yet. His eyes hovered over ‘The Shining’ and he plucked it from the shelf, moving to sit on the couch to wait for Phil.

When he finally came in, his eyes moved to the film in Dan’s hand and he beamed.

“I love ‘The Shining’! I’m a big Stephen King fan.”

“I’m reading the book for the millionth time right now while I’m at work. I haven’t seen the film in ages.”

Phil put it in the player and took a seat next to Dan on the couch; far enough away that they weren’t touching, but close enough that if either of them were brave enough, they could be.

About five minutes into the film, Phil shot up out of his seat. “We can’t watch a film without popcorn!”

“We literally just ate, Phil!” Dan called from his spot on the couch.

“Doesn’t matter! It’s always a good time for popcorn!” His voice was muffled from being in the other room, but it still made a dopey smile come to Dan’s face, and he was glad that Phil couldn’t see.

He came back a few minutes later, a big bowl of popcorn in one hand, the box of chocolates he bought at the store, and two precariously held glasses pinned between his arm and ribs.

“Phil! You’re gonna spill everything!” Dan jumped up from his seat and helped set some things down.

“I didn’t want to make two trips!”

Dan just laughed and took the popcorn from him. “Just sit down, dork.” 

So he did, even closer to Dan this time.

“I got you some Ribena. Is that okay?”

Why did something as stupid as that make Dan’s heart beat so hard? Sure, they liked the same drinks, and movies, and video games, but so what? It didn’t mean anything.

“That’s great. It’s my favorite.” 

Their eyes met and Dan felt completely captivated. He wanted to lean in and kiss Phil with every fiber of his being, but just as he thought that he might, and it even seemed like Phil was leaning in a bit, something crashed on the screen and broke their attention.

Dan wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not.

-

At some point, Phil had pulled a blanket over both their laps, which just added to the intensity Dan felt to just scoot over and bit and cuddle him. Maybe even kiss him a bit.

They had been snacking on the chocolates Phil bought, though Dan did tease him that nearly half were already gone when they tucked into them.

“Hey! I can’t help that I have a sweet tooth,” he pouted all pretty at Dan. “Plus, I made dinner, I deserved a treat.”

“You’re right. You deserve all the treats,” Dan cooed at him. 

There was that thing between them again. It felt like the whole room had become electric, the air between them sparking with _something_ Dan couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“I really like you, Dan,” Phil whispered. He wasn’t sure when they had become pressed up against each other, but Dan could feel it every time Phil took a deep breath.

“I like you, too,” Dan breathed into the shrinking space between them.

Phil’s eyes fell to Dan’s lips, and then dragged back up to his eyes slowly, and that was all the confirmation he needed, so before he could hesitate or overthink it, he leaned in close and pressed his lips to Phil’s.

-

There was half a second where Dan was afraid that he had fucked up and read everything wrong, because Phil wasn’t moving at all. But he seemed to catch up with the current events because the next thing Dan knew, Phil was pulling him in close and kissing him with vigor.

Dan let out a small groan without realizing it. There was a lot happening, and he hadn’t been kissed like this in ages, if ever. Phil was a good kisser and was so enthusiastic - grabbing and pulling - wanting to get them as close as possible. 

“I’ve wanted to do this since I first came in and saw you standing there all tall and cute,” Phil mumbled between kisses.

Dan could feel his cheeks flushing and he was smiling so much that kissing was becoming difficult, but that didn’t stop either of them. 

“I did, too. I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long.”

Phil just hummed back and pulled Dan closer so that he was straddling his lap. This was different, and it was a lot, but Dan’s mind was in greed mode and he just wanted more.

-

He wasn’t sure how much time they had spent there, but soon the credits of the film were rolling and that seemed to break them out of it. 

Phil’s lips were puffy and pink, and it made Dan want to kiss him more and see how maybe his neck would look with a few purple marks in the shape of Dan’s mouth. He didn’t do that, though, because he knew it was probably nearing eight or nine in the morning, and although it was the last thing he wanted to do, he needed to go home. Go to bed. Maybe take a cold shower.

“I think I need to go home,” Dan whispered, head resting on Phil’s shoulder.

“Nooo,” Phil whined, holding him close to his chest. “I don’t want you to go.”

Dan hummed his agreement and placed a kiss on Phil’s collarbone. “Although I would love to stay, I do need to get home. I don’t wanna, like, rush this.” He said the last part a little quieter, but Phil nodded a little and hugged him once more before loosening his arms enough that Dan could stand.

“What are you doing tonight? You have the night off, right?” Phil looked so hopeful and sweet, and fondness bloomed in Dan’s chest, though he wasn’t sure how, as surely there wasn’t more room there for all the things Phil made him feel.

“Yeah, I’m free tonight.”

-

Phil walked him to the door, even though it was about ten steps from the couch, and once he pulled on his shoes, Phil was pulling him forward and into his arms again.

“Thank you for coming over tonight. I had such a good time.”

Dan melted into the hug, and every fiber in his body was screaming for him to stay right there, but he leaned back out of the embrace and placed a light kiss on Phil’s lips.

“I did, too. Text me about tonight?”

Phil nodded and kissed him again. Dan moved away before he could just decide to say ‘fuck it’ and stay.

“Night,” Dan said, opening up the door.

“You mean good morning,” Phil called after him as he walked to the lift.

Dan just rolled his eyes fondly and waved as the doors closed.

-

The sound of his phone ringing, too loud and shrill for the amount of sleep he hadn’t gotten, was what he woke up to. There was a tiny part of him that thought that maybe it was Phil, and that made him reach for it before properly opening his eyes, but to his disappointment, it was just work.

“‘Lo?” His voice was gravely from sleep and he had to clear it so he could properly speak. “Sorry, hello?”

“Dan, it’s Greg. Can you come in tonight? Alex was supposed to be working tonight, but their grandma is ill and they need to be with her tonight.”

There was a tiny, miniscule part of Dan that was annoyed because he was tired and a bit grumpy at the thought of having to work on his day off, but he knew that it wasn’t Alex’s fault. He wouldn’t be able to function at all if his Nan was sick.

“When do you need me? 10?”

“Yes, it’ll be the normal evening shift. They were scheduled to stock shelves, but Carrie said she would switch if you’d like.”

“I’ll take the register.” At least then he could read if it was slow, which it almost always was.

“Okay, thank you again!”

Dan hummed and ended the phone call, flopping back down on his bed. He needed coffee since he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, so he dragged himself out of his wonderfully soft and comfortable bed and took a shower, a plan forming in his head.

-

There was a small coffee shop near work that Dan usually stopped in before his shift if he had time. They always had an assortment of pastries and cookies, so Dan ducked in and ordered a tea for himself and scanned the menu for options he thought Phil would like. He ended up settling on a caramel mocha, since all of the caramel candies from last night had been the first to go.

It wasn’t until he was standing in front of Phil’s door with the drinks in a drink carrier in one hand, and a bag of croissants in the other, that he considered that maybe this wasn’t a good idea. What if Phil had changed his mind since last night? What if he hated that Dan came over without asking? Maybe he would be upset with Dan for waking him up, which seemed like a real likely possibility.

He set his anxious thoughts aside, though, and knocked lightly on the door. There was instantly movement on the other side, and Phil wrenched the door open and smiled wide at Dan when he saw him standing there.

Phil looked like he had just gotten out of bed. His hair, normally sleek and pushed back into a quiff, was a birds nest of black locks, and his glasses were perched crooked on his nose. 

Dan instantly wanted to kiss him again.

“I brought coffee and breakfast,” Dan said quietly, bracing himself for the possibility of rejection, although Phil’s bright expression made it seem unlikely.

“You’re my hero!”

Phil grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. He was the opposite of gentle and graceful, but Dan kind of liked it. It was like Phil was so enthusiastic that he just couldn’t control his limbs.

Dan sat everything down on the breakfast bar and pulled Phil’s cup from the cardboard holder.

“I got you a caramel mocha, I wasn’t sure what you liked?”

He just beamed and placed a light kiss on Dan’s cheek, making his face flush. He wondered if he would ever get used to this casual affection Phil seemed to have an abundance of.

“It’s perfect.”

-

They sat at the breakfast bar and sipped on their drinks, talking about nothing and everything. Dan wasn’t sure he had ever met someone so kind and smart and just _wonderful_. And they had so much in common, too. It all made Dan’s head spin a bit, but in a good way.

“So, for tonight I thought we could maybe go see a film? The remake of Pet Sematary is out, I thought we could go see that?”

Dan’s stomach clenched a little, reminded of the main reason he had come over. “I forgot to tell you, I got called into work. A co-worker of mine’s grandma is ill so I’m covering for them.”

Phil looked disappointed, but he nodded. “That’s awful, I hope they are okay.”

God, Phil was just so _good_. If they were in opposite positions, Dan wasn’t so sure he would be so understanding about it.

“Can we rain check?”

“‘Course,” Phil said, taking Dan’s hand into his own and squeezing lightly.

-

Dan stayed until he had to go to work, just sitting around with Phil talking. He couldn’t ever recall doing that with anyone else. Most of the time when he socialized, especially with the occasional, (who was he kidding? rare) people he dated, it was awkward and a bit stilted if they weren’t doing something that would engage their attention. He had never been with someone, friends or otherwise, that he could just sit around and talk to and not feel the need to entertain or be entertained.

Phil pouted and whined a bit when it came time for Dan to leave, but he promised to come over after work, so that made him smile that big goofy smile that Dan was coming to love dearly.

Dan walked the few minutes to work and set about finding things to keep busy, suddenly wishing he had picked shelving because then at least he would have had something to do with this keyed up energy. The book he had brought wasn’t holding his attention much, but he didn’t dare pull out his phone, not willing to risk getting written up (again). 

-

About two hours into the shift, the doors groaned open, the familiar buzz filling the air. He didn’t bother looking up, because he figured Phil wouldn't be coming over since they had made plans to hang out after work, but after a few seconds, Phil was there in front of his register, grinning.

“What are you doing?” Dan chuckled. He didn’t reach out or kiss him, like he wanted to, but it was a near thing.

“I came in for eggs. I’m gonna make you my famous scrambled eggs for breakfast!”

“What makes them so famous?” Dan asked, eyebrows raised in faux concern.

“The love,” Phil said, moving towards the cold cases.

Dan rolled his eyes and didn’t bother hiding it as he watched Phil walk away.

He tried to focus on his book, but knowing Phil was in the store made it harder to focus than it already was. Oliver came over a few seconds after Phil disappeared from view, asking where the mopping supplies were, and Dan directed him towards the supply closet. He really wondered why they hired people and then didn’t show them where anything was.

-

About ten minutes after he had seen Oliver shuffling the mop and bucket towards the entrance, Dan heard a loud crashing noise come from somewhere in the store. He stilled, waiting for another noise, and it came in the form of Oliver sprinting over, frantic and wide-eyed.

“Someone fell! What do I do?”

Dan’s blood ran cold, and he sprinted towards the aisle Oliver pointed him to. All his fears were confirmed when he saw Phil sprawled out on the floor, basket and all its contents scattered all over the ground.

“Fuck, Phil! God, are you okay?” He was afraid to shake him, the CPR lessons he had to take when he was first hired rattling around his head.

Phil groaned and blinked his eyes open, blue irises immediately finding Dan’s brown ones.

“I think I fell.”

Dan couldn’t help the loud burst of laughter that left him. It was adrenaline fueled, and he clamped his mouth shut immediately, but it made Phil smile a bit, so it was probably fine.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Phil took a second to assess things. “I think I’m gonna have a bruised butt.”

Dan laughed again and rolled his eyes. “C’mon, let’s get you up.”

Phil tried to sit up and winced. “Also my head hurts.”

“We’re going to A&E, they can check you out.”

Greg ran over then, his normally pink face drained of all color. 

“Are you okay, sir?” He was frantically wringing his hands and shifting around.

“I think so.” Phil had finally managed to stand up, and was a bit shaky, but after a second he seemed to get his bearings.

“Let me call you a cab.” Greg scrambled to pull out his mobile and called a car company to take Phil to the hospital.

“I’m going with him,” Dan told Greg quietly.

“I need you to stay here and run the register.”

Dan thought for a second before deciding to take the low road because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to leave.

“He could sue. The sign wasn’t up when Oliver moped this section,” Dan whispered low enough that Phil and Oliver wouldn’t be able to hear. “I think it’s best that I go with him and make sure he’s okay. 

His already pale face drained even more. “You’re right. That’s probably for the best. I’ll make some calls, just make sure he’s okay.”

Dan agreed and gently pulled Phil toward the doors so they could go outside and wait for the car. 

“Am I gonna get you in trouble?” Phil asked, curling his arm around Dan’s waist and laying his head on his shoulder.

“Nah, I told Greg you might sue and that I need to go with to make sure you’re okay.”

Phil sniggered into his neck, the warmth of his breath contrasting with the cool air or the night, making goosebumps break out across his entire body. “I wouldn’t do that.” 

“I know, but now I can go with you, so let’s just pretend that you aren’t the sweetest person on the planet.”

Phil tittered a little and pressed a soft kiss to Dan’s shoulder. “You’re the sweet one.”

Dan scoffed a little, but kissed the top of his head and steered him into the cab that had just pulled up.

-

The hospital was nearly deserted and they wouldn't let Dan go back at first, so he had to sit there and leaf through outdated magazines full of celebrity gossip that made him roll his eyes so often it gave him a headache. When a nurse finally came back and told Dan he could see Phil, he practically sprinted towards the room. 

Phil was laying in a bed in a gown, eyes shut and a blanket draped over him all the way up to his neck. Dan approached slowly, not wanting to wake him if he was sleeping, but Phil’s eyes cracked open and he smiled at Dan. Although it wasn’t his normal bright smile, it still went all the way up to his eyes, and Dan could feel some of the tension leave his body.

“You okay?” It was a dumb question, he was at the hospital, but he asked anyway.

“Mr. Lester has a minor concussion and a few bumps and bruises, but he’ll be alright,” the nurse told Dan, fussing with the wires and cords attached to Phil. “We just want to keep him overnight for observation.”

Dan nodded and waited until they left to move to the side of Phil’s bed, clasping their hands together.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” It didn’t really encompass the relief that he felt, but it was still true.

“You’re cute when you worry.” Phil gave him a sleepy smile and pumped their fingers. 

“Yeah, well, let’s not make this a habit, okay? I don’t think my heart can handle it.”

Phil hummed his affirmation and tugged on Dan’s hand. “Come lay with me.”

Dan glanced towards the door and back to Phil, “I don’t think I’m allowed to do that?”

He scoffed and pulled again. “‘S my bed. I say it’s fine.”

Dan snorted, but gingerly crawled into the tiny space Phil had made for him. It was cramped and they were touching everywhere, but Dan was hardly going to complain about that.

“See? Nice and comfy,” Phil mumbled into Dan’s chest where he was curled up.

Dan didn’t necessarily agree with the ‘comfy’ part, as there was a something pressing into his back and Phil’s knees were incredibly bony and laying on top of his, but he agreed about it being nice.

“Let’s have our next sleepover in an actual bed, yeah?”

Phil hummed softly, “Yes, please,” and soon his breathing evened out. 

Dan laid there, holding onto Phil and letting sleep take him, too. He would probably get a scolding for letting Phil convince him to sleep next to him, but he figured it was totally worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> like/reblog on [tumblr](http://tobieallison.tumblr.com/post/183829840131/every-second-with-you-i-want-another) and view on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ta_hens/status/1112153328916418560) if you like :)


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